Corporeal Politics: Dancing East Asia

Mezur, Katherine

doi:doi:10.3998/mpub.11521701

Corporeal Politics: Dancing East Asia

Katherine Mezur and Emily Wilcox, Editors 2020

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In Corporeal Politics, leading international scholars investigate the development of dance as a deeply meaningful and complex cultural practice across time, placing special focus on the intertwining of East Asia dance and politics and the role of dance as a medium of transcultural interaction and communication across borders. Countering common narratives of dance history that emphasize the US and Europe as centers of origin and innovation, the expansive creativity of dance artists in East Asia asserts its importance as a site of critical theorization and reflection on global artistic developments in the performing arts.

Through the lens of "corporeal politics"—the close attention to bodily acts in specific cultural contexts—each study in this book challenges existing dance and theater histories to re-investigate the performer's role in devising the politics and aesthetics of their performance, as well as the multidimensional impact of their lives and artistic works. Corporeal Politics addresses a wide range of performance styles and genres, including dances produced for the concert stage, as well as those presented in popular entertainments, private performance spaces, and street protests.

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Studies in Dance: Theories and Practices

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978-0-472-05455-8 (paper)
978-0-472-12694-1 (ebook)
978-0-472-07455-6 (hardcover)

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Figure 1.2. In front of two seated men in traditional clothing, a woman performs a dance with two swords. Scarves swirl around her as she kicks one foot up in the air behind her.

Nine Cloud Dream, approx. 1800-1900

From Chapter 1

Fig. 1.2. Nine cloud dream (gu’unmong), approx. 1800–1900, Detail. Korea; Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Ink and colors on paper. Photo © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Acquisition made possible in part by the Korean Art and Culture Committee, 1997.21. This detail of a salon dancer accompanied by female musicians aptly illustrates the circulation of ideas and images throughout East Asia. The screen depicts scenes from the famous 17th century Korean novel Nine Cloud Dream, which is itself set in Tang dynasty China and centers on the conflict between Buddhist and Confucian values. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.2.

Figure 2.1. Mei Lanfang as legendary Chinese beauty Yang Guifei. He wears flowing garments with bare arms striking a dance gesture uncharacteristic of traditional Peking opera.

Mei Lanfang in The Unofficial Biography of Taizhen [Yang Guifei], circa 1925

From Chapter 2

Fig. 2.1. Mei Lanfang in the role of Yang Guifei in the new opera The Unofficial Biography of Taizhen [Yang Guifei]” [Taizhen waizhuan 太真外傳], created circa 1925. Mei’s flowing garments and bare arms are completely foreign to Peking opera. Source: Liang She-Ch’ien, ed., Mei Lanfang; Foremost Actor of China (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1929), 6. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.3.

Figure 2.2. In a crown of jewels and finely embroidered garment, Mei Lanfang strikes a dance pose wielding two swords, one held high and the other low. Long sashes float behind him.

Mei Lanfang in Hegemon King Bids Farewell to His Concubine

From Chapter 2

Fig. 2.2. Mei Lanfang in Hegemon King Bids Farewell to His Concubine (Bawang bieji 霸王別姬), created circa 1922. Photo courtesy Kyushu University library. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.4.

Figure 3.1. Wu, dressed as a Buddhist monk, puts two palms together in a praying gesture, raises his right foot slightly forward, and turns his head toward the wall at the left.

Wu Xiaobang in Si fan, 1942 - 1

From Chapter 3

Fig. 3.1. Wu Xiaobang performing Si fan, 1942, Qujiang, Guangdong Province, China. Source: Yu Ping 余平 and Feng Shuangbai 冯双白, eds. 2006. Bai nian Wu Xiaobang 百年吴晓邦 (A hundred years of Wu Xiaobang), Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe 文化艺术出版社, p. 19. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.5.

Figure 3.2. Wu, dressed as a Buddhist monk, puts two palms together in a praying gesture, walks to the left, lifts his head facing the audience, and peeks beyond the supposed wall.

Wu Xiaobang in Si fan, 1942 - 2

From Chapter 3

Fig. 3.2. Wu Xiaobang performing Si fan, 1942, Qujiang, Guangdong Province, China. Source: Yu Ping 余平 and Feng Shuangbai 冯双白, eds. 2006. Bai nian Wu Xiaobang 百年吴晓邦 (A hundred years of Wu Xiaobang), Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe 文化艺术出版社, p. 19. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.6.

Figure 4.1. Murayama Tomoyoshi in bobbed hair and a dress stands barefoot and barelegged, arms spread like eagle wings, leaning and staring forward in front of a stone fireplace.

Murayama Tomoyoshi at Jiyu Gakuen, 1923

From Chapter 4

Fig. 4.1. Murayama Tomoyoshi dancing at Jiyū Gakuen in 1923. Source: Murayama Tomoyoshi: Get All of Me Seething exhibition catalogue, 2012. Photo no. III-134, p. 117. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.7.

Figure 4.2. Murayama in bobbed hair, a dress, and high heels, twists his body and steps forward in a deep knee bend. Okada crouches, feet turned out, twisting torso bent forward.

Murayama Tomoyoshi and Okada Tatsuo at Chieruteru no kai, 1924

From Chapter 4

Fig. 4.2. Murayama Tomoyoshi and Okada Tatsuo dancing at Chieruteru no kai in 1924. Source: Murayama Tomoyoshi: Get All of Me Seething exhibition catalogue, 2012. Photo no. III-137, p. 119. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.8.

Figure 5.1. In front of stairs in a theatre, Park Yeong-in stands alone in traditional Korean male costume. He stretches out his right arm with his wrist and fingers drooping down.

Masami Kuni (Park Yeong-in) in Mikonshano Odori, n.d.

From Chapter 5

Fig. 5.1. Masami Kuni (Park Yeong-in) in Mikonshano Odori, n.d. Photographer unknown. Courtesy Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.9.

Figure 5.2. Park Yeong-in stands with hands palms together in front of his chest, eyes open. He wears a peaked hat and a white robe with wide sleeves that drape in front of his chest.

Masami Kuni (Park Yeong-in) in Nembutsu, n.d.

From Chapter 5

Fig. 5.2. Masami Kuni (Park Yeong-in) in Nembutsu, n.d. Photographer unknown. Courtesy Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.10.

Figure 6.1. Dai Ailian poses on a rock ledge looking up toward the sky. Her arms are outstretched, her legs lunging, and she wears a costume like the flag of the Republic of China.

Dai Ailian in Guerilla March, 1940

From Chapter 6

Fig. 6.1. Dai Ailian in Hong Kong performing a dance pose from her solo dance Guerilla March. South China Morning Post, October 16, 1940. Photographer unknown. Used with permission of South China Morning Post. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.mpub.11521701.cmp.11.

Figure 6.2. Dai Ailian performs Tibetan dance in long dress with striped apron. She stamps her feet in boots with thick, flat soles and flings long sleeves over one shoulder.

Dai Ailian in Ba’an xianzi, 1946

From Chapter 6

Page 124 →Fig 6.2. Dai Ailian performing her Tibetan dance Ba’an xianzi, which she premiered in Chongqing in 1946. Yiwen huabao 艺文画报2, no. 5, 1947, p. 6. Reproduction provided by the Chinese Periodical Full-text Database (1911–1949), Quan Guo Bao Kan Suo Yin (CNBKSY), Shanghai Library. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.12.

Figure 9.2. Men at right stretch arms as if shooting arrows, confront women on left in poses of dismay. Below, a male dancer holds aloft a woman draped in a back-bend over his head.

Prince Igor at Hollywood Bowl

From Chapter 9

Fig. 9.2. Prince Igor at Hollywood Bowl. Los Angeles Evening Herald, August 14, 1930. Artist and photographer unknown. Courtesy Los Angeles Philharmonic Archive. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.18.

Figure 11.1. Choe outdoors posing in long sleeves dance, dressed in Korean costume with embroidered red jacket and blue skirt for the role of Kye Wŏlhyang.

Choe Seung-hui dressed in Kye Wŏlhyang, 1961

From Chapter 11

Fig. 11.1. Choe Seung-hui dressed in role of Kye Wŏlhyang in the eponymous titled dance-drama, 1961. Source: “人氣 스타—崔承喜와 桂月香,” 新生活 Sinsaenghwal May 1961 (no. 51), p. 35–37 available at the Library of Congress. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.21.

Figure 11.2. Choe in simple everyday Korean dress in her studio instructing a group of dancers in Korean costume, some with fans and others in long sleeves and scarves.

Choe Seung-hui preparing dancers for Kye Wŏlhyang, 1961

From Chapter 11

Fig. 11.2. Choe Seung-hui preparing dancers for dance-drama Kye Wŏlhyang, 1961. Source: “人氣 스타—崔承喜와 桂月香,” 新生活 Sinsaenghwal May 1961 (no. 51), p. 35–37 available at the Library of Congress. Available at https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11521701.cmp.22.

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Corporeal Politics: Dancing East Asia

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Nine Cloud Dream, approx. 1800-1900

Mei Lanfang in The Unofficial Biography of Taizhen [Yang Guifei], circa 1925

Mei Lanfang in Hegemon King Bids Farewell to His Concubine

Wu Xiaobang in Si fan, 1942 - 1

Wu Xiaobang in Si fan, 1942 - 2

Murayama Tomoyoshi at Jiyu Gakuen, 1923

Murayama Tomoyoshi and Okada Tatsuo at Chieruteru no kai, 1924

Masami Kuni (Park Yeong-in) in Mikonshano Odori, n.d.

Masami Kuni (Park Yeong-in) in Nembutsu, n.d.

Dai Ailian in Guerilla March, 1940

Dai Ailian in Ba’an xianzi, 1946

Prince Igor at Hollywood Bowl

Choe Seung-hui dressed in Kye Wŏlhyang, 1961

Choe Seung-hui preparing dancers for Kye Wŏlhyang, 1961